1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pedestal closure assemblies for storing power and telecommunications equipment, and more particularly to pedestal closure assemblies configured to promote ease of installation and enhanced anchoring in a support medium in a substantially vertical alignment.
2. Description of Related Art
Telecommunications, cable television, power distribution equipment and the like, including primary cable loops, terminal blocks, and connections between the primary cable loop and the terminal blocks are commonly located out-of-plant or outdoors. Since the necessary equipment is located outside, a protective covering is required to protect the equipment from human interference as well as from the environment. Therefore, such protective coveting must provide structural as well as environmental protection.
Typically, the protective covering is produced in the form of a pedestal. The pedestal structure includes a housing with a sufficient volume in a minimum area and in a convenient working orientation for containing the aforementioned equipment. Inside the housing, cable pairs may be interconnected to each other. Such interconnections are made at a connector block which is mounted to a universal mounting plate inside the closure. The connector block includes a number of terminals and the pairs of wires in the cable are stripped of their insulation and connected to the terminals.
A base portion, or lower end, of the closure housing is recessed and secured in the ground, and has a passageway to permit a cable to extend therethrough. The cable is covered by a top portion, or upper end, of the housing which attaches to the base portion. The pedestal, when assembled and installed, should have sufficient structural strength to resist minor impacts as well as other environmental conditions such as wind, snow accumulation or precipitation impact.
Heretofore, these pedestal closure assemblies typically have been installed in the ground by digging a hole large enough to fit the entire square-shaped base portion, or lower end. The large lower end is then placed into the hole, the ground is back-filled into the hole, and a stake is inserted into the ground and attached to the lower end thereby further securing the lower end in the ground. However, square-shaped base portion prior art pedestals that use ground stakes to maintain vertical alignment are not secure in the ground. They tip over in inclement weather and when jostled, for example, by heavy machinery that is used around the pedestals.
Once the ground stake has been added and the pedestal is stabilized in the ground, the universal mounting plate is then installed in the housing, and the top portion, or upper end, is finally locked onto the lower end.
A commercially available non-metallic sealed plant telephone enclosure sold by Channel Commercial Corporation and apparently disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,374 has a generally scoop-shaped lower end, but does not have a step portion formed on the housing for stabilization. As described above, a ground stake needs to be used to further stabilize the telephone enclosure in the ground, and even then, the pedestal tends to tip and be misaligned because of the inherent problems associated with separate ground stakes. Other commercially available pedestals which require a stake for further ground stabilization include Reltec Corp.'s PEDSEAL.RTM. Sealed Pedestals.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,124 discloses a pedestal with a plastic, generally scoop-shaped "stake," or lower end. The patent teaches that a separate ground stake still needs to be used to further stabilize the pedestal in the ground. Again, one can anticipate similar problems with tipping and misaliginent as are described above with the square-shaped base section prior art pedestals that require separate ground stakes for further stabilization in the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,279 discloses a cable television housing with a "tubular base member," or lower end. Again, a separate ground stake is apparently required to further stabilize the housing in the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,234 discloses a pedestal enclosure without a traditional square-shaped housing lower end. Instead, it discloses a ground stake means for stabilizing the housing in the ground that can be attached to the housing by using screws or bolts. However, the attached ground stake means does not eliminate the tipping and misalignment problems described above.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,067 discloses an environmentally sealed pedestal with a square-shaped lower end. As with the other prior art assemblies disclosed above, a ground stake is needed to keep this pedestal from tipping or becoming dislodged while in the ground. As described above, however, the ground stake does not usually prevent this from happening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,427 discloses a flood protection pedestal with a square-shaped lower end in need of a separate ground stake for stabilization when installed in the ground.
Presently, other commercially available pedestal closure assemblies are constructed of metal and most have generally square-shaped lower ends which need a ground stake to ensure stable installation into the ground. This construction presents various problems. For example, the pedestals are difficult to install and have a tendency to be misaligned when installed as well as lean or tilt in the ground after they have absorbed physical impact and environmental attack over a period of time. Furthermore, a large hole needs to be dug in order to fit the entire lower end of these prior art pedestals into the ground. Also, complete installation of such pedestals requires a stabilizing ground stake to be inserted into the ground to prevent the pedestal closure assembly from tipping after installation in the support medium. As with all of the prior art pedestal closures that need separate ground stakes for increased stabilization in the ground, in practice, these stakes are often installed incorrectly (at the wrong angle) or in the wrong place causing many of the presently installed pedestal closure assemblies to tip or tilt anyway shortly after installation in a support medium such as earth, cement and the like.
Additionally, the costs involved with fabricating metal pedestal closure assemblies are generally higher than for non-metallic ones. Furthermore, since metal pedestal closure assemblies are relatively heavy, it takes costly and time-consuming labor to install them correctly and to ensure that they do not begin to lean after installation and extended physical and environmental impact in a support medium.